ScandAsia South East Asia - February 2014

FEB 2014

Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Cambodia Laos

Nordic business community eyes The Philippines ScandAsia.dk

ScandAsia.fi

ScandAsia.no

ScandAsia.se

Coming Events

SWEA Excursion to Port Dickson February 10, 2014 SWEA Kuala Lumpur is organising an excursion to Port Dickson on 10 February 2014.

More information on the website http://kualalumpur.swea.org

ECCP 35th Anniversary: European Masquerade Ball ECCP will hold its 35th Anniversary European Masquerade Ball on Thursday 20 2014. The Masquerade takes place at Marriott Hotel Manila, Philippines.

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine

SWEA KLs Annual General Meeting

ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in South East Asia.

February 20, 2014 @ 18:00 – 23:00 Venue: Marriott Hotel Manila, Philippines

February 20, 2014 The annual meeting of SWEA KL will take place on February 20, 2014. The venue and time is still to be announced.

Members may check with the website http://kualalumpur.swea.org or the fecabeook group of Swea KL

Danish Planet Saigon: Fastelavn March 2, 2014 @ 11:00 – 16:00 Danish Planet Saigon will hold a Fastelavn Fancy dress party for the Danish children in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday 2 March 2014. The treat will include Danish cream buns “fastelavnsboller” and “slaa katten af toenden” a game imitating an old pagan ritual where a cat was put in a barrel and then the people would beat on the barrel with bats until it break and the cat would then fall out and run away screaming, taking all the evils of the town with it. Great fun for all, except the cat of course.

Scandinavian Golf Club Philippines tournament

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Assistant Editor: Wachiraporn Janrut wachiraporn@scandmedia.com Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com

March 9, 2014 @ 09:00

Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com

This match takes place at Forest Hills Golf course.

Register at: http://www.scangolf.ph

Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com

Magical Northern Lights First Anniversary Dinner and NBCP Awards March 27, 2014 @ 18:00 – 23:00 The NBCP proudly presents the Magical Northern Lights – the First Anniversary Dinner and NBCP Awards, with cocktails, dinner, and entertainment at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel on March 27, 2014.

Graphic Designer : Supphathada Numamnuay supphathada@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Advance Printing Services Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

News Brief

Blue Water Shipping opens in Ho Chi Minh City

B

lue Water Shipping, one of Denmark’s most successful freight forwarders, have opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City. The office has been set up by Flemming Johannesen and six Vietnamese colleagues offering the whole Blue Water range of transport solutions to and from Vietnam. Flemming Johannesen brings 45 years of experience to the job - eight of those years working in Vietnam.

Blue Water Shipping said in a statement about the opening: “We are constantly searching for opportunities to develop our business so we can meet the requirements clients have for a global transport and logistics company such as Blue Water Shipping. For some time, we have had our eyes set on Asia which sees high growth and where Blue Water already has a good set-up with our base in Singapore.”

“By opening in Vietnam, we have chosen a business model that allows us to enter the market with the right strength to provide a satisfactory service for our clients both in terms of volume and quality.”

Worldwide, Blue Water Shipping has more than 60 offices and over 1100 employees, offering freight solutions by road, rail, sea and air of general cargo, oil, gas & industrial projects, reefer logistics and IT tailored systems for their clients. The company was founded in 1972 by Mr Kurt Skov in Esbjerg, Denmark.

Flemming Johannesen’s corporate email is hochiminh@bws.dk

Trade Minister of Sweden visited Indonesia – again

Denmark to reopen embassy in Philippines in August

D

enmark will reopen its embassy in the Philippines after more than a decade of absence in the country. Danish Ambassador Nicolai Ruge, covering the Philippines from Kuala Lumpur, relayed this information on 16 January 2014 to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Zeneida Angara Collinson. The opening is scheduled for August this year.

The opening is part of a reshuffle of resources whereby the Danish Foreign Ministry will focus on areas experiencing growth in the global economy, said Danish Foreign Minister Holger K Nielsen on 16 Jan 2014.

The new opening in Manila as well as new embassies in Colombia, Myanmar and Nigeria will be financed by closing down embassies in Switzerland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Slovakia and scale down diplomatic missions in Romania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Albania, Argentina, Malaysia, Vietnam, Morocco and Afghanistan.

“The changes to the embassy structure will, all in all, give Denmark direct access to over 300 million more people and consumers than at present – distributed throughout three continents – including important emerging markets. We will open missions in regions and countries where economic growth is booming, where there is a huge potential – and where the economic power shift is accompanied by increased political clout,” said Holger K. Nielsen, quoted by Copenhagen Post.

4 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2014

I

n early December 2013, Minister for Trade and Nordic Cooperation Dr. Ewa Björling visited Indonesia - for the third time in three years!

In an interview with the minister on the website of the Embassy of Sweden, Dr. Björling explained the frequency like this: “Indonesia [..] is a very important partner for Sweden - in a number of areas. This is why I have as trade minister led two business delegations to Indonesia to Jakarta in 2012 and 2013.”

The interviewer then asked the minister where she saw unused potential in the Swedsh Indonesian relationship?

“I think we can do a lot more. This is why I have as Trade Minister devoted special funds for promotion efforts geared towards the partners where we see the greatest potential, and Indonesia is one of these countries. We are especially excited over the good collaboration on sustainable urban development and the SymbioCity concept, where we are now working together with a number of Indonesian cities in line with the Indonesian Green Cities programme.”

Finally, the minister is asked when she will be back in Indonesia?

“Well, next year is an election year in Sweden, just like in Indonesia, so I will travel less then I have this year. But if I get the chance I’ll definitely come back!”

Source: Embassy of Sweden in Indonesia

News Brief

Vestas wind farm in Vietnam

V

estas - the Danish wind turbine company - is about to start the development of Mui Dinh wind farm. The wind farm will support Vietnam’s economic growth potential by using Vietnam’s vast wind resources and at the same time help meet the growing demand for clean energy.

The project is aimed at establishing a sustainable wind energy business model.

“Denmark is a worldleader in wind power development, and we have numerous wind farms spread across the Danish fields and shorelines. I hope the Mui Dinh wind farm will serve as a game changer for future wind power projects helping Vietnam to meet its soaring demand for energy” Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, John Nielsen, said at the announcement of the plans.

Danish support to migrant children

T

orben Venning, the Danish CEO of Humana Child Aid Society, together with the Danish Ambassador to Malaysia, handed over awards to students at a school for children of migrant plantation workers at their graduation ceremony. The ceremony was part of the EU-Sabah Days 2013, which also included a dinner with Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA), a seminar on migrant children’s rights.

February 2014 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

5

News Brief

Intermarine staff give Christmas gifts to victims of typhoon Haiyan

By Ranjini T. Larsen

C

“Here we are being very lucky as we enjoy nice dinners, gifts and get-togethers with our families on Christmas, but families in our neighboring country have lost everything and it is always the kids that suffer the most,” said Christian Andersen, the Managing Director of Intermarine in Kuala Lumpur.

hristmas is the season of giving, and employees of Intermarine Shipping & Chartering Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur gave indeed this Christmas.

The 17 employees of Intermarine happily donated the budget set for staff gifts to support instead the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines. The funds were directed towards to the benefit of the children affected by the storm. It was the deadliest typhoon ever recorded, killing 5,924 people in its path and displacing thousands more in the Philippines alone.

Intermarine channeled the funds through the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) by paying them a visit on November 29th. The money will be used for water, sanitation and hygiene; child protection, health and nutrition, and education of the unfortunate children.

“Christmas is a celebration for and mostly enjoyed by children, and what happened in the Philippines is extremely unfortunate,” said Christian Andersen, the Managing Director of Intermarine in Kuala Lumpur.

“Watching the news and seeing the devastation & suffering where people, including children, don’t even have food and water and have lost everything including their family members is terrible.”

“Many of us in the office are parents, or uncles and aunts, and no one had any second thoughts when the suggestion was put forth to ‘sacrifice’ their Christmas gift to help the children affected by the typhoon,” said Christian Andersen.

To maintain some of their year-end traditions as a team, Christian treated the staff and families to a nice corporate Christmas dinner.

Danish Scan-Trans Holding A/S and U.S. based Intermarine merged in August last year. The companies merged their operations under Intermarine name, bringing the best of both cultures and businesses into a company focused on delivering industry-leading service and providing custom solutions to their global customers.

At the Kuala Lumpur office, the company has 17 employees – a majority of five Danes, and a German, Russian, Ukrainian and Chinese forming the foreign talent scene, with eight Malaysians also making-up the strong team.

B A G S VÆ R D K O S T S K O L E GYMNASIUM Tættest på København

Bagsværd Kostskole & Gymnasium (BK) er en udviklingsorienteret og traditionsrig skole grundlagt i 1908. Elever, der vælger en uddannelse hos os, siger ja til fællesskab, faglighed, seriøsitet og individuel talentudvikling.

Du får: • En dansk uddannelse med et internationalt præg • Grundskole, 10. klasse, studentereksamen (STX) • Valget mellem to femårige forløb, GLOBAL og BIOTEK, fra 8. klasse till studentereksamen • Sport- og talentklasse fra 7. klasse • Mulighed for morgentræning tirsdage og torsdage • Enkeltværelser til kostelever • Lektiehjælp hver dag

Skan koden og læs mere på bagkost.dk Aldershvilevej 138 • DK-2880 • Bagsværd • Telefon: +45 44980065 • E-mail: bk@bagkost.dk

6 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2014

Vietnam, Finland target US$1 billion in trade

T

wo-way trade value between Vietnam and Finland has reached over US$300 million and both countries aim to more than triple this amount to US$1 billion in the coming years.

The figures were revealed at a joint investment seminar in HCM City on November 29, with representatives of more than 100 Finnish and Vietnamese businesses.

HCM City urged Finnish businesses to invest in safety technology, its advanced technology industry, and tourism. For Vietnamese enterprises, success in Finland could springboard export expansion into other European markets.

To meet the US$1 billion target, both sides will strive to effectively implement the Vietnam-Finland investment promotion and encouragement and the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s business partnership program.

Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam Kimmo Lahdevirta said the seminar offered advice on the best way for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate the Finnish market.

Nordic business community eyes The Philippines W

By Aya Lowe

ith the exception of Norway and its long maritime history, the Scandinavian business community has never been a prominent or active part of the business scene in the Philippines. However, as the Philippines continues to enjoy a steady growth in economy, surpassing even China in its last GDP growth and achieving three investment upgrades, Nordic countries have been increasingly eyeing up the Philippines as a destination to set up business.

Increase in interest

Scandnavian business community gathers for a networking event

Scandnavian business community gathers for a networking event

8 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2014

Bo Lundqvist, President of the Nordic Business Council Philippines (NBCP) and CEO of Swedish company, Retail Associates said in recent years he has noticed a slow and steady growth of Nordic businesses setting up shop in the Philippines.

“Numbers are still relatively small, but it is evident the recovered and growing Philippine economy, paired with a positive political situation, has increased interest for the Philippines even in the Nordic countries. Nordic companies are beginning to see the many advantages the Philippines has in terms of language, education and cost of living compared to other Asian countries,” he said.

“While manufacturing, distribution and Shipping would be the probably largest sectors investing in the Philippines, BPO outsourcing and various forms of on/off-shoring businesses are being established paired with a limited number of businesses doing business in the local market,” Lundqvist added.

According to Per Stangegaard, managing director of Danish company, Phil & Scand. Design and Filtra Inc, as the Philippines will become a major tourist destination, it will need partners to continue its development in environmental and infrastructure projects. “These are traditionally areas where the Nordic countries are strong,” he added.

One of the main advantages of the Philippines is the proficiency of English. “One of the things that is quite available here are people with university degrees with good English language skills,” said Ivar Thomasli, head of the Norway Business council and managing director of Thome Ship Management.

“Workforce is also quite stable. In many other countries in the region people have a tendency to look for a better job or salary. We have a much higher retention here than in other place and the cost of establishing compared to other countries is reasonable,” he added.

Cebu Orientation- Norway is the only Scandinavian country with strong business ties to the country One of the factors that has accelerated this interest is the upcoming formation of the ASEAN countries as a single bloc. With this on the horizon, the EU is promoting Asia as the next destination to do business with the Philippines playing a prominent position.

“They have an ongoing project where they get together business chambers in Asian countries and put them together in a pan European business partnership. When we were informed that there was a project happening and were asked if the Nordic countries wanted to participated we felt we needed some sort of organization,” said Lundqvist.

Norway is the only Scandinavian country in the Philippines with a trade office and embassy.

The other Nordic countries have in previous years shut down their consular services and centralized them in Bangkok.

With interest increasing in the country, the need for a support system has increased. The Nordic Business Council Philippines (NBCP) was formed in January 2013 in response to this. The NBCP now has 46 participating companies.

According to Joona Selin, executive director of the NBCP, the services provided spans different levels. Level one is organizing regular events and activities for members. “Whenever we do events it serves as a channel for our members to get exposure and make themselves known,” said Selin.

The other aim of the business group is to bring more companies from the Nordic countries into the region. “We have lots of people who used to live in the Philippines and now live back in their different Scandinavian countries so they become our contact point to promote the Philippines as an investment destination to our people,” he added.

While the business council continues to provide a support system in the absence of official trade offices, there are plans to re-introduce these trade offices. Danish Ambassador-designate Nicolai Ruge recently said that Denmark is considering reopening its embassy in the Philippines in order to encourage and boost trade with a more permanent presence. Denmark closed its Philippines embassy in 2002 in order to cut costs. Ruge, who is the current Danish ambassador to Malaysia and ambassador-designate to the Philippines said that they are aware the Philippines economy is expanding and, even if they don’t have the resources to put a fully-fledged embassy in place, they will at least consider establishing a trade office.

Elsewhere, efforts have been made to boost

trade and investment between the two countries.

In early October, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General, Lilia de Lima visited Oslo and Copenhagen to promote business opportunities in the Philippines while Department of Trade and Investment (DTI) undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr visited Helsinki and Stockholm with a similar task.

The Scandinavian business community in the Philippines Norway has always enjoyed a strong business presence in the country with its strong maritime and shipping ties.

“Norway as a shipping nation has been involved with Philippines since the 1970s when we started taking Filipinos on board. They are now the biggest providers of seafarers in the world making up 25% of the total seafarer population.

Many shipping companies from Norway established their office in the Philippines to have more control,” said Thomasli.

Thomasli is also now President of the Philippine Norway Business Council, which has almost 50 Norwegian members. According to him, along with the maritime industry, IT and back of service industries such as BPOs and service centers are also growing. “There will be a growth in shipping, back office businesses. It’s only a matter of time until people realize that there are resources here and it’s just a matter of training people to suit your needs,” said Thomasli.

One prominent Swedish company that has been based in the Philippines is Swedish Match Philippines. On September 19, the company, which produces lighters under the Cricket Lighters brand, celebrated its 40th anniversary in the country. Located at the Laguna Technopark south of Manila, Swedish Match’s manufacturing facilities has over three hundred employees. Swedish match produce 300 million lighters a year 60% of the worldwide production is done in the Philippines and 95% is for worldwide export.

July also saw Patrik Brummer, founder and chairman of the Swedish hedge fund Brummer & Partners inject a new $120-million Navegar Fund which aims to invest $10 million to $20 million each in eight to 10 mid-sized Philippine companies over the next five years.

According to Selin, the number of Danish subsidiaries has doubled in the last few years.

Sonion a manufacturer of miniature components

and solutions for hearing instruments and advanced acoustics in July inaugurated its $22 million manufacturing facility in the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas.

At the inauguration, Sonion Philippines general director Niels Ole Jeppesen said that the company chose the Philippines as its new site because of the high educational level of the Filipino workforce, reasonable infrastructure, and competitive incentives for foreign investors, and good cooperation with PEZA. From Finland, internationally known brand, Nokia has put a lot of investment in its research and development arm in the Philippines. “Nokia is an interesting case because you have the distribution of the handsets here but you also have an R&D facilities in Quezon City which is quite large. They have 450 brand new buildings and they work with the local top universities here to skim the top candidates and bring them into the business,” said Lundqvist.

Main handicaps However while the Philippines becomes increasingly prominent on the Scandinavian business radar and trade between the two regions continues on an upswing there are a number of issues that need to be ironed out before the Philippines can be considered a completely safe investment.

“The slow development of infrastructure, and the inefficiency of public service are the main disadvantages. The cost of operation is higher than it needs to be if the infrastructure was better developed. It is going too slowly, but at least it is moving in the right direction,” said Stangegaard.

“The tax system has to be simplified and corrupt practices need to be eliminated. Foreign ownership should be allowed to a higher degree and the education system needs to be improved further,” he added.

According to Lundqvist, the country needs more positive exposure. “The Philippines is still widely known for more negative aspects than positive. The Philippines need engage in a much bigger way with business organizations in the Nordic countries to build up a better picture of the country in terms of security, political stability, business environment and as a place to live,” he said.

Despite the disadvantages, Lundqvist is positive that investments will continue to increase.

“Outsourcing has just begun, and the Philippines is well positioned to receive a large chunk of that business also from the Nordic countries,” he said.

February 2014 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

9

SilkAir

getting attractive The regional carrier of Singapore Airlines is in fast forward mode as it enters its 25th year of operation.

New destinations, new services and new flights are added.

By Gregers Moller

S

ilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will be celebrating its Silver anniversary this year. The airline has warmed up for this jubilee for a couple of month with a stream of new services and route expansions.

In November, the all passengers were upgraded to bring on 10 kg more baggage than previously. Free baggage went up to 40kg in Business Class and 30kg in Economy class, respectively.

The same privilege was offered passengers on Sinagpore Airlines.

Later the same months, SilkAir started flying on Yogyakarta in Indonesia as a new destination.

Yogyakarta was the 45th destination in SilkAir’s network, extending the airline’s reach to 12 destinations in Indonesia. SilkAir’s other Indonesian destinations include Balikpapan, Bandung, Lombok, Makassar, Manado, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Semarang, Solo, and Surabaya.

Yogyakarta is where you fly to explore the famous Borobudur Buddhist Temple and Prambanan Hindu Temple in Central Java – both Unesco World Heritage sites. A city steeped in history and tradition, it was the seat of the ancient Mataram Empire in the 18th and 19th century, and is the second most visited Indonesian destination after Bali.

10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2014

WiFi entertainment on board In December, SilkAir launched a wireless inflight entertainment system on one of its Airbus A320 aircraft. Initially the launch was a trial enabling the customers on the aircraft to stream a wide variety of multimedia content such as movies, TV programmes and music directly onto their personal laptops, Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android tablets and smartphones while onboard their flight.

“Upon successful trial, we look forward to introducing this system across our aircraft fleet by next year, providing customers with the complete SilkAir experience,” said Chief Executive, Mr. Leslie Thng.

Two days into the jubilee year, the airline announced two new destinations to be added to the network, Kalibo in the Philippines and Mandalay in Myanmar. Kalibo will be served three times a week through circular-routing flights with Cebu from 27 May 2014, and Mandalay will be served three times a week through a circular flights between Mandalay in Myanmar and Yangon from 10 June 2014. Kalibo is the capital of Aklan province and gateway to the idyllic Boracay island, which is located off the northwestern tip of Panay. The island is known for its stunning white sandy beaches

and crystal clear waters. Besides soaking up the sun on its beautiful beaches, Boracay also offers a wide array of land and sea activities.

Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar and the centre of culture and religion in the country. The city is home to the magnificent royal palace as well as many other attractions built during the Konbuang Dynasty. Bagan, long considered one of the world’s greatest archeological sights, is also accessible through Mandalay.

Starting from 30 March, the frequency of flights to almost all destinations will also increase.

The Phuket route will go up from 30 flights to 35 flights per week, the Darwin route will go up to 5 flights per week In Indonesia, services to Palembang will be increased to five times weekly and subject to slots approval, services to Balikpapan will also increase from the current six times a week to daily flights.

New fleet of Boeing 737s To cap it all off, SilkAir will in early February be taking delivery of the first aircraft in its new fleet of 54 Boeing 737s. A total of eight planes are expected this year, with the remaining aircraft to be delivered by the end of this decade. With the new aircraft, several enhancements will be offered to improve the in-flight experience for travellers including upgraded cabin interiors with more spacious overhead luggage compartments and lighting systems.

In addition, SilkAir will roll out a host of surprises and celebrations for their avid Asian traveller target. For starters, to rally consumers and involve them in SilkAir’s historic Boeing delivery, the airline will bring fans and aviation lovers together

to virtually deliver the new aircraft to Singapore.

Tracking the actual delivery route, from the Boeing Renton factory in Seattle to Singapore’s Changi Airport via Honolulu, Majuro and Guam, the ‘Bringing Boeing Home with SilkAir’ programme is Asia’s first 25-hour flight simulator event that will allow up to 150 selected members of the public to fly a simulator SilkAir Boeing 737-800 plane into Singapore. The event will take place overnight from 7th to 8th February 2014 at Flight Experience Singapore, located at the Singapore Flyer.

SilkAir travellers will also be rewarded through special promotional deals where 250,000 tickets will be made available at special rates for consumers in Singapore and across the region.

Thanks to the staff Commenting on the anniversary celebrations, SilkAir Chief Executive, Mr. Leslie Thng, said: “It is a tremendously exciting time for the airline, and I am honoured and humbled to be part of such a milestone celebration. I would like

We are always looking at ways to enhance the journey for our customers.

to pay a special tribute to our 1,500 employees who have been with us on our incredible 25 year journey. Without their unwavering support, dedication and heart, we would not be here today.”

“SilkAir’s success is also due to the on-going support from our passengers and the public. We are always looking at ways to enhance the journey for our customers. Our new Boeing fleet will enable us to put the passenger at the centre of our focus, with the objective to deliver a higher level of quality and experience.”

The first aircraft is planned to enter service from 20 February 2014, flying to destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Phuket and Medan while the arrival of the second plane will allow the addition of other routes for the new aircraft including Siem Reap, Danang, Davao, Cebu and Kochi from 17 March 2014.

Early start till today SilkAir took to the skies in February 1989 as Tradewinds the Airline, before evolving into SilkAir in 1992. In its early days, the airline catered to passengers holidaying in exotic destinations in the region, including Phuket and Tioman. As the carrier developed, regional business destinations such as Phnom Penh, Yangon and Kuala Lumpur were added.

Today, the full service airline operates more than 300 weekly flights to 45 destinations in 12 countries.

Latest additions to the network include Hanoi (June 2012), Visakhapatnam (October 2012), Semarang (July 2012), Makassar (August 2013) and Yogyakarta (November 2012).

For more details on SilkAir, visit silkair.com or http://www.facebook.com/SilkAir

February 2014 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

11

Selling sex work for a comfortable living Staffan Nordstrand blames anti-human trafficking NGO’s for selling shocking stories about the victims of the sex industry first of all to cover their own salaries.

By Joakim Persson

12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2014

S

wedish author Staffan Nordstrand, whose book, ‘River trilogy’, sheds light on the evil of human trafficking in Southeast Asia, has started an awareness campaign to channel donations directly to organisations that are doing a good job in a cost-effective manner battling the modern-day slave trade. International agencies need not apply. To Nordstrand, they are just a bunch of bloated bureaucracies only interested in lining their own pockets.

Because the main focus of his books is on human trafficking, he has often been invited to speak publicly on the topic. Staffan said he was approached by several international aid agencies in Sweden to speak.

In one case, they wanted him to

educate members of their staff and share his insights – so they could sell (read: raise funds) better. That caused him to look at it from a totally different perspective and to see their real intentions. Staffan turned away from them in disgust when he got to see how they operate and spend the money, donated by ordinary people, on swanky offices at fancy addresses and chauffeured around in fleets of expensive cars.

“They want funding to cover their own expenses, that is their number one priority. It’s not to collect money for those in need – forget it!,” said Staffan.

“I said to myself ‘I should try to connect donors directly to recipients instead of helping them maintain expensive offices in Stockholm!”

rkers stories It all came together towards the end of, ‘The Last Journey’, the last book in his River trilogy launched last year, where some of the characters in the book decide to initiate an action campaign: Bee with us (Bee as in the name of one of the characters in his book).

With first-hand experience in trafficking they decide they should do something to tell the truth to the world. In so doing they speak for the author.

Staffan Nordstrand initially came in touch with this world when he started to take an interest in the stories related to him from workers under his supervision as a developer of residential homes in Phuket.

A number of years travelling and research gathering followed which has resulted in three documentary novels.

And now Staffan brings fiction into the real world with this new international aid initiative - without middlemen.

The website Beewithus.com does two main things. First, spreads information on trafficking of children and young people within the sex

industry and manufacturing in Asia.

Second, it links donors with qualityassured recipients in South-east Asia, without any middlemen involved who just waste large parts of the funds. Donations will go directly and in whole to the particular operation being supported by people.

“Actually, there are many competent organisations out there doing an excellent job. They need support, but the donors don’t know of their existence,” he elaborates.

Bee with us will also reach out through holding lectures and other kinds of advocacy work. At the Göteborg Book Fair (Gothenburg, Sweden) held in September Staffan had his booth designed to reflect the slum in Bangkok and also attended a symposium on trafficking as speaker.

His trilogy has sold well. During the book fair alone, Staffan signed over 500 books. The first book has sold around 30,000 copies and is about to be translated into English and other languages.

The books and Bee with us constitute various part of the same effort to counteract human trafficking

and prostitution with exploitation of those poor and vulnerable.

“More organisations should inform about human trafficking. We know that at present this is the largest form of slavery ever on earth.

And still most people believe that slavery is something we abolished globally a long time ago. The truth is that the sex trade and sex slavery has not been stopped, so we need to start a new war to stop it,” states Bee with us.

“Child sex trade, young girls and boys, kidnappings… that’s where we should work hard to fight it. I think it’s very important that people come to understand that tourism plays an important part. On Bangla road in Phuket, for instance, the main sex customers are Asian tourists. Up towards 90 per cent of the customers in the brothels are locals.

On top of that you have the tourists coming here and using the sex trade, which they do,” Staffan explains his view.

Tourists seeing something involving other tourists, what can they do?

“Confront them and report

to the authorities,” replies Staffan.

“And don’t sanction places like Bangla road by taking your family there to look around at what is forbidden back home but somehow acceptable just because being on holiday!”

You can also become active with beewithus.com.

“Forget governments and go down to field-level and try to connect locally with the police etc. Build small cells that work together and get joined later in a central part.

Top-down control won’t work.”

Being an ambassador for this cause is what Staffans intends to be.

“It is very important that more persons. It’s the children we must reach out to: they are the future, so they must go home to their families and say that trafficking is bad and illegal.”

International Baccalaureate

- an alternative to the Danish ‘Studentereksamen’ • internationally recognized • gives admission to universities all over the world • taught in English You can stay at Nyborg Gymnasium’s boarding school.

Contact us for more information about the programme and the boarding school.

Deadline for applications: 15th of March

Nyborg Gymnasium & Kostskole Skolebakken 13, DK-5800 Nyborg, tlf +45 65 31 02 17 post@nyborg-gym.dk, www.nyborg-gym.dk

February 2014 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

13

‘From here to Eternity’ About growing old gracefully

By Flemming Winther Nielsen

The photo shows the author, Flemming Winther Nielsen, as a young, self-confident academic with his old father, Hermann Johannes Winther Nielsen, who died in 1984. Flemming Winther Nielsen died on 21 January this year.

I

t is one of Fate’s cruel jokes that young people cannot comprehend the life lived by us, the older generation. They cannot understand our inner life, our conditions, even if they take an interest and try; the ‘generation gap’ it is often called. This is the joke and the condition. Apparently a sort of invisible ring is cast around us; we are inside, fundamentally alone. We are left to our own personal struggle, hope and fear. Furthermore, what we learnt in life, our experiences, are of no value in this so-called nuclear society where everything changes with tremendous speed.

You may say that your children and grandchildren love you, yes, rightly so, but it is still my claim that they don’t have a chance to understand what is going on inside us. Our fear is not their fear; they are in the bloom of their life, not nearing the end of the road.

The first consequence of this fact is maybe grief and maybe isolation if we don’t act and react. We have to get used to standing alone and defend our own positions from there. We can never allow family and next of kin to try to diminish us as old fools who can neither see nor hear, that is the direct route to dementia. But now, let me give a few examples of what is on OUR mind, our invariable peculiarities you might call them with a little glint in the eye.

Our peculiarities • For many of us not a day passes by without grappling with the thoughts of our death. For us this comes naturally, but it would not be natural for a person in the bloom of his life. Meanwhile, these thoughts are solemnly between us and His

Brightness – or His Darkness.

• We get acutely aware of our bodily functions, alarmed and consulting the doctor on even minor signs of dysfunctions. We know that the final blow will commonly be related to an illness and we fear that. Our relatives will often regard this behavior as hypochondria.

• Many of us get a little obsessed with our dress and our smell, not a spot, no odor, the young can dress as bums, we can absolutely not, and for good reasons we prefer dark trousers.

• We try to hide our physical shortcomings, but we prefer an upright dining table chair for the low and deep ‘comfy’ chair offered. We walk slowly and tell our companion that it is because we want to look around, at flowers, birds and bees.

• One very sensitive issue is the decline of our sexual capacity. In the blue hours, talking with friends about this, we find the grief and the sorrow. It is difficult to cope with this loss and of course we deeply envy the young couples we meet on our way. Then many of us chose Viagra as a way out, but that is a personal choice and solution of course.

• Many of us experience that our possessions lose their value and our appreciation, furniture, even books, the maintenance of the house, we are letting it decline with us. It is a strange to observe that the elegant crystal carafe given to you by a dear friend is now more or less without value. I will give it away.

Will to win – born to lose Today we all exercise, young and old, most useful

14 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2014

thing to do. The risk comes if you believe your current level of fitness will last; that you can maintain your handicap; still win the matches, in tennis, still score high. The decline will come, like a thief in the night, slowly and almost invisible; we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be surprised by this fact.

A friend of mine and of my age, exercised early every morning with four friends. Then he suddenly found out that he couldn’t follow suit. Then he simply dropped out disillusioned –or a victim of his own illusion, that things will last – they never do.

It took him quite a while to get back on his feet.

To stand upright, centered and unbiased If we don’t want to surrender ourselves to the greasy hands of the public welfare system and the nursing home, but will continue as long as possible as freedom fighters, we have to learn. Already the ancient Greeks and old Buddhism deal with the eternal human problem: How to survive with dignity in times of trouble. The Greek philosopher Zenon was the father of stoicism. From this practical teaching we can learn a lot. Almost interwoven we then have the Buddhist teaching.

In the writing about ‘The Middle Path’ we are told to stay neutral, upright and centered.

Meaning to investigate and penetrate the core of life with an unbiased attitude (From Teaching in Chinese Buddhism 1996). It becomes a question of whether or not we want to acknowledge and give up our prejudices and false norms.

In my next article I will deal in more details with these two remedies for a better understanding and acceptance of our situation, late in life.

Medium

Swedish

Semlor (fastelavnsboller)

Evil

Makes about 18 buns • 700g plain flour • 140g caster sugar • A pinch of salt • 350ml milk • 2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom • 2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast • 150g salted butter, softened • 1 large free range egg Almond paste: • 250g of skinless, blanched almonds • 225g caster sugar • A few tablespoons of milk • A little icing sugar to dust • 750ml double cream, whipped

Are you done?

W

hen you have completed the above puzzles, please send your solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@ scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct answers. Five lucky winners will receive a ScandAsia polo shirt.

Name:

___________________________________________________

Age: ________________________

Mobile:

___________________

Address:

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Email:

__________________________________________________

Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 March 2014

•

•

•

•

•

•

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and pour the milk in, heat until lukewarm. Mix in the yeast.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and the cardamom.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ones along with the egg. Bring a dough together and knead on a clean floured work surface for 4 minutes. Place back in the bowl and cling film and a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm, dark place for 45-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, divide the dough into 18 pieces (80g each) and roll each into a ball. Put the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the buns with a little beaten egg or milk and bake in the centre of the oven for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire wrack.

Prepare the almond paste by blitzing the almonds and caster sugar in a food processor. Then add a few drops of milk until you have thick smooth paste. Place in the fridge to firm up and become solid.

Cut a triangle out of the top of each bun and scoop out some of the insides, to make a small hole for the filling. Save the breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl.

Grate the almond paste into the breadcrumbs and bring together a creamy paste using a few tablespoons of milk. Fill the buns with tablespoons of the filling and then pipe whipped cream on top.

Place the the tops back on, dust the buns with icing sugar and serve.

February 2014 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

15

e h T IB World School in Singapore!

Specializing ONLY in the IB curriculum

Focusing on Personal & Social Development, Maximizing Academic Excellence ISS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

An authorized IB World School specializing only in the

Established in 1981

IB Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programs

Elementary & Middle School Campus 25 Paterson Road, Singapore 238510 Tel: (65) 6235 5844 Fax: (65) 6732 5701

for ages 4 to 18. Extensive range of IB Diploma subject

High School Campus 21 Preston Road, Singapore 109355 Tel: (65) 6475 4188 Fax: (65) 6273 7065 Website www.iss.edu.sg

SINGAPORE

PROVISIONAL

M

UN

DO • W OR

L

D

S CH

LE O

•

ÉC

CO

OO L •

L EG I O DE L

Email admissions@iss.edu.sg

Accrediting Commission for Schools

options.

1st International School in Singapore with a 1 to 1 Apple Macbook program.

Multicultural environment with students from almost 60 countries – no dominant group.

Outstanding student support services including university advising, counseling and a guardianship program.

Esteemed faculty members with a significant number of IB workshop leaders, examiners, moderators and authors.

SINGAPORE

PROVISIONAL

D U M O ND E

Cert No.: EDU-3-3095 Validity: 12/07/2013 - 11/07/2014

ISS is registered by the CPE • Registration no: 201316975E • Registration period: 16 June 2011 to 15 June 2015